Categories
Captioning Inclusive practice Teaching

Live captioning in education: the view from schools and specialists

Learners’ experiences of access arrangements at school have significance for transition to post-16 learning environments and future use of strategies. In looking at the provision of live captioning in educational contexts, it’s vital to consider whether, and how, it is used with younger learners, specifically young deaf and hard of hearing people, to understand the […]

Categories
Captioning Inclusive practice Teaching

Live captioning in UK further and higher education: exploring the current landscape

A recent Jisc community survey on live captioning in UK further and higher education shows that use is growing and interest in experimenting with different tools is high, but it also points to some clear practical challenges. Feedback on issues such as accuracy, infrastructure, staff awareness and policy gaps offers useful insights that will help […]

Categories
AI Inclusive Digital Capability Policy & strategy Teaching

Smart Glasses: game changing assistive technology or just more wearable tech for gadget lovers?

Are Smart glasses digital innovation that will support inclusion and enhance the student experience? The term smart glasses as used here is a generic term to describe a range of wearable technology products. This includes assistive models such as those specifically for blind and low-vision users, as well as more commercially orientated glasses. Some of […]

Categories
Accessibility Regulations Compliance Learner Experience Productivity/assistive technology

Signals from the System: Shadow Accessibility

The hidden world of everyday accessibility work. Now, I know that title might sound like the opener for a new sci-fi series, but stay with me. Here’s what’s been absorbing my thoughts recently. What do we do when the digital systems and resources in our organisations don’t quite work for our students or staff? Most […]

Categories
Staff development What works

From consultation to co-creation: what disabled students’ lived experience teaches us

Ahead of Jisc Digifest 2026, this blog revisits a powerful conversation on centring disabled students’ lived experience in accessibility work. In this fireside chat with Piers Wilkinson, we explore why consultation isn’t enough, how co-creation improves course design, and why staff training and power-sharing are essential for meaningful inclusion in higher education. Lessons lived On […]

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Equality EU Accessibility Act Legal Policy & strategy

The European Accessibility Act (EAA) and Excellence in Education

Excellence in Education The UK’s International Education Strategy (published January 2026) is an ambitious statement by the government to place the UK’s education system, from early years to schools, colleges and higher education, at the heart of the UK’s global engagement. It identifies education as one of the UK’s most important global assets. The aim […]

Categories
AI

Exploring how AI can support deaf and hard of hearing students 

AI presents both opportunities and risks for deaf students. With so many different tools available, identifying what is genuinely useful can be difficult. Here we’ll consider some key developments that are having an impact on accessibility for linguistic access and study.  Exploring where accessibility and innovation meet, we will move from more established tools like […]

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Get involved

Accessibility Community Drop-ins: 2024/25

A look back at how your voices shaped our sessions. What an academic year it was! Every session, every experiment, every new idea we explored came directly from you — the Accessibility community members. You contributed your thoughts and ideas, and together we turned those into conversations, collaborations, and practical sessions that made a difference […]

Categories
AI Researching assistive technology

Should we be training disabled students how to use Generative AI effectively?

About me Rhona is employed at the University of Dundee as the Assistive Technology & Alternative Formats Officer. While working, she completed a part-time MSc in Educational Assistive Technology, graduating in 2025. With a keen interest in Generative Artificial Intelligence and the use of mainstream technology for assistive purposes, she designed her MSc dissertation to […]

Categories
FE colleges

Wrapping Up Phase One: The FE Accessibility Training Matrix Project

As we approach the end of the 2024–2025 academic year, we’re excited to share an update on the FE Accessibility Training Matrix Project. The FE Accessibility Matrix is a Jisc-supported initiative designed to create a structured, collaborative tool that maps accessibility knowledge and skills to job roles across the UK Further Education (FE) sector. The matrix […]